Penn State men’s hockey remains confident, looking to bounce back from season-opening loss

With a young team and a compressed, unusual schedule featuring four games in six days on the road, members of the 10th-ranked Penn State men’s hockey team expected challenges to start the season.

They were comfortable with their approach, too.

“We’re confident, 100%. We know how we can play and we have a really good group of guys that can play well. We can beat anybody. The whole team knows that,” assistant captain Aarne Talvitie said. “Things might be a little harder straightway because we haven’t played in a while and we have some new guys, but we’re 100% confident.”

After getting swept at Minnesota to start the season, a six-hour bus ride down I-94 followed. Next up, back-to-back games at Wisconsin.

Penn State was 9-5-1 on the road last season. It was the best mark in the Big Ten and set a single-season record for the program.

With all Big Ten teams playing a conference-only schedule (along with series against Arizona State for each team), the four-games-in-six-days approach has been embraced by coaches and players alike.

“I like it. It allows us to cut costs, you can travel once and play two series instead of one,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “And playing midweek games will give us a better exposure or the Big Ten Network.”

Penn State last started Big Ten Conference play 0-2 in 2013-14 — its first season in the conference when it went 0-9 before getting its first Big Ten victory.

Nobody expects that kind of struggle this season. Even though Penn State was picked last in the preseason Big Ten coaches’ poll, the Nittany Lions remain competitive in perhaps the nation’s best conference.

They struggled a bit in the season opener, dropping at 4-1 decision at Minnesota, but played better in the second loss, losing 3-2. Defensive lapses were costly in both games. And what was often the nation’s highest-scoring offense in recent seasons remains comparatively unproductive.

Still, it’s early — and little seems likely to shake the team’s confidence.

No. 10 Penn State (0-2) at No. 14 Wisconsin (2-2)

Series: 6 p.m. Monday, 6 p.m. Tuesday

Radio/TV: Coverage on Big Ten Network, 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Penn State leads the all-time series, 20-13-3, with a 5-2 advantage in the last seven meetings. … Penn State last lost the first two games of the season in 2017-18. … Senior forward Linus Weissbach leads Wisconsin with five points (two goals, three assists) through four games. … Overtime in college hockey this season begins with 3-on-3 play.